Chapter 53: The World Tree

Heading back to the fourth floor, she heard Selvaria just about to reach the same level; the leviathan was huffing a bit, her mother rubbing her back as they took the stairs—she had broken one of the elevators by just getting inside ten minutes earlier.

"Need to work on that cardio, girl," she joked, waiting for them to reach her.

"Rachel...uh, yeah—I, uh...I’m good," she lied, tail dragging along the floor. "This is my mom—ugh... Kill me," she cried in her monotone voice that made Rachel chuckle.

Her brown-haired mother smiled and moved forward to shake her hand. "Hello. It’s Rachel, right? Selv told me your parents would be here, too. Umm. It’ll be nice talking to someone else about how things have changed... It’s been crazy."

Selvaria took her mom’s hand and moved aside to let some nurses and doctors pass in a pack, discussing some strange case regarding a faekin brownie’s small physiology while looking over X-ray sheets.

"I’ll—" Her heart stopped, ears darting to the left. "Excuse me real fast..." She broke away, Roy spotting her change of direction and following.

"Oh, okay..."

Selvaria made a weak gesture, seeming to catch her breath. "That’s Rachel, always busy running around doing stuff. Maybe we should go running when we get up. Oh, maybe Scarlet will join us! Wooh. I’m getting pumped. We should get some sports clothes—uh...my tail, though."

"Hehe. I’d think you’d have a lot more stamina with how often you’d play games in the pool—you even waterproofed your handheld devices to play underwater!"

"Heh. I did, didn’t I," she mused as her mother rubbed her head.

"Yeah... Also, I can sew something for you, Honey; you know how good I am at it with all your cosplay stuff."

"We can make stuff for everyone! We should look up some cool designs from the games I like to play... Maybe there’s an update. Oh, a really nice dress, maybe."

"For running? Hehe. C’mon, Selv. We need to be practical."

"One word, Mom. Magic!"

"Hehe. Okay, my little leviathan witch."

Rachel turned her ears away from the conversation as she made it to one of the waiting rooms, opening the door to the surprise of those waiting while their loved ones were in surgery. The news was on, showing a news feed live from the United Kingdom as Rachel listened to the reports, her heartbeat quickening. A colossal tree sprouted out of a large riverway, and the famous clock nearby told her where it was:

*

"We’re here at the Houses of Parliament, and, as you can see, a massive tree is growing out of the River Thames. Several eyewitnesses to the event have described it in horrific detail! A well-known party vessel for the wealthy, according to those onboard at the time, sank late last night due to an attack by a mythickin nymph—yes, the Greek kind.

"However, some conflicting statements have surfaced that claim she was trying to save the life of an unidentified man. One witness stated that as everyone was thrown into the water, this enormous tree began to grow, saving many who had fallen into the River Thames; yet several people are still unaccounted for, including the mythickin nymph herself.

"The tree roots are currently blocking traffic on Westminster Bridge, Abingdon Street, A3212, Lambeth Bridge, A3036, and penetrating into the roads all around the area; thankfully, most buildings seem to be unaffected, and there are no reported casualties from the tree itself—the panic and riots are another issue, with the rapid increase in knife assaults and magic-enhanced terrorists.

"As for the tree, there are rumors that these rhizomes reach as far as the North Sea and the English Channel, but there are multiple confirmed sightings of large roots spread across England, and this mythical tree continues to grow, even threatening Big Ben! People are already comparing its height to the Burj Khalifa, with its enormous branches overshadowing London.

"Our network has consulted multiple experts on the pictures we’ve secured before the military grounded all aircraft; it seems there are plants of unknown origin growing near the base and further up in the large branches where waterfalls can be seen, flowing from fissures in the trunk.

"You can see that the water and plant life—even the trunk itself—seem to glow, radiating their colors in an almost magical way; reports have been issued that it is not radioactive. It looks like a forest itself is sprouting out of the trunk and branches.

"Experts theorize that the mass spread of its roots must reach far underground and tap into many underground rivers and water sources across the country to sustain its massive size, causing concern regarding our water supply. Waterfalls are gushing out of various openings, cascading down branches further up the trunk. Some already call this the Eighth Wonder of the World: The World Tree.

"However, scientists warn us that this could severely affect the water levels around the UK and the agricultural industry. The area is being sealed off by local authorities as the military prepares to enter the tree’s inner hollows at one of the openings in the trunk’s base. We will continue to keep you posted."

*

Rachel’s thoughts returned to the first vision the goddesses had shown her; this was where they wanted her to go. Well, General Dallas has to believe my dream vision from the goddesses is real now... How could I have predicted this otherwise?

"Holy shit," Roy mumbled next to her. "We really have entered a fantasy book..."

"You have no idea..."

Rachel returned to the area they’d been given, hearing Selvaria and her mom in the other room; the leviathan appeared to have forgotten what happened last time since she tried to use the bed without considering her weight—it folded like paper. It didn’t help that the panicked waving of her arms and tail broke tiles and equipment nearby, which made her tear up.

"There, there," her mother soothed. "You’ll get used to it in time. Can you become a little girl to sleep and release everything in your [Water Pool]?"

"No...I’ll die," she sniffed. "Being heavy sucks sometimes. Well...I can release some water, but not all of it. What if I can’t even use the elevator if I become a little girl? I can’t use the elevator or...or the cord breaks. I break everything, Mom... I could hurt people."

"We’ll get through it, Sweetie. Just release what you can. Here..."

"Chocolate!" she smiled, taking the moose plushie. "Thanks, Mom."

"Mhm, I also brought your favorite blanket too! Okay, let’s get ready for bed."

Likewise, Rachel prepared to do the same when going into Scarlet’s room. The vespertine reaper looked practically dead, with her unmoving chest in her bed. She quietly moved into the room with her resting parents. Something caught her eye, however: the eerie sight of blood weaving out of the girl’s skin, moving of its own accord, forming into a girl brandishing a scythe in her direction.

"Veronica..." she growled at the agitated, shimmering liquid girl who had been used to seal Twilight, testing to see if it would respond. "I’m not doing anything shady, so don’t get jealous—didn’t you say I was nice?"

She glared at it until the infectious substance snaked back inside Scarlet’s resting body. "Yeah, that’s what I thought... If you want her to be your friend, maybe do something nice for her that doesn’t involve murdering people, body snatching, or creeping her out."

She was almost impressed as the blood paused and took on a personality of its own, forming into a hand to give her the middle finger before forming into the shape of a hare, slicing off its head—certainly, a 16-year-old girl’s response.

"Don’t get all up in your feelings," she snickered, staring at the substance thoughtfully while adding this newly discovered guardian living inside the girl to her internal equations and plans. "Just offering some advice—oh, don’t tell me, the goddesses have you flustered. Right," she confirmed as the liquid shot back into her body in what seemed to be a huff.

Veronica is growing frustrated because of something nearby, and it’s almost like she doesn’t want to go into my parents’ room... Eostre, are you still lurking?

Leaving for the other room, Rachel placed the bed by the window, cracking it open since she was already drained, allowing herself to soak in a bit of moonlight whenever the moon did start to rise.

Tomorrow would be a huge day: the legendkin captain and military psychiatrist would put them to some kind of test, while Maria would be the linchpin for something grand; for now, she sat by the window and controlled her breathing to enter her inner world, at least for a little bit to test it out. She had a lot of speculation and observations to make regarding the various enemies she’d faced thus far. Time to plan.